What do humans taste of? I have heard that it鈥檚 a little bit like pork (not that I want to find out). But if it is, why? And if it isn鈥檛, what do we taste of? Also, why do different meats 鈥� say lamb, beef, chicken or pork 鈥� taste different anyway?
鈥� Apparently, in parts of the Pacific region where human flesh was eaten, it was known as 鈥渓ong pig鈥�.
Pigs and apes are both forest animals, and their way of dealing with predators is to run for cover. Apes run for the nearest tree and climb it; pigs head for the nearest thicket and hide in it. Both manoeuvres require some intense but short-lived muscular exertion.
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Cattle and sheep are animals of the open country, and escape from predators by outrunning them. This requires endurance, so their muscles are rich in myoglobin to provide on-board oxygen supplies. The myoglobin makes their meat red and gives it quite a different flavour to that of forest animals.
Hazel Russman, London, UK
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